Preview: Experimental India are more than a match for demoralised Sri Lanka in ODI series

In theory, a humiliated, demoralised Sri Lanka, still reeling from a comprehensive 3-0 whitewash by India, could have been expected to, at least, fashion a strong response in the upcoming One-Day International series. After all, don’t forget, they beat India in the Champions Trophy in June. Even looking to win the series should not have been considered an unrealistic goal.

In reality, Sri Lanka will probably be trying to, by hook or by crook, win two matches in the five-match series, ensure World Cup qualification first and foremost and then worry about everything else.

More bad news than good

And that is what Sri Lankan cricket has come to – a place where even disarray sounds like you’re suger-coating it. They are led by a captain, Upul Tharanga, who averages only 34.32 in ODI cricket and who was repeatedly found out by India’s bowlers during the one-sided Test series. Rather than focusing on the series at hand, their minds may still be on the Test humiliation with the sports minister calling for a report into the result and former captain Arjuna Ranatunga slamming them left, right and centre.

Lasith Malinga is back in the team but one has to wonder if his body will hold up through the entire series. The other piece of news which should have been a good one but will leave Sri Lankan fans on the edge of their seats is that Angelo Mathews may be able to bowl again in the series. That though may be inviting even more danger, considering the injury-prone Mathews is one of SL’s best batsmen.

The only motivation they can take is they have nothing to lose. Most fans, even the die-hard Sri Lankan ones, are expecting a 5-0 whitewash. A little bit of improvement will gain them some degree of approval. Which is in stark contrast to their opposition.

India look to tie up a few loose ends

India are the overwhelming favourites going into this series but they are not without their share of issues. While Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandra Ashwin have been rotated, much of the focus has been on the exclusion of Yuvraj Singh along with the fact that Suresh Raina wasn’t selected in the squad. Fitness has been the buzzword around the team since the squad was announced with MSK Prasad even going on record to state that it was difficult to predict Dhoni’s future.

But the most interesting move is the choice of KL Rahul at the No 4 spot to replace Yuvraj Singh. This is confirmed – chief selector MSK Prasad announced the move when the squad was announced, adding, “He is too good a player to be left out of the playing eleven at this time”.

That is all fine and good, but is the move of asking an opener to play in the middle order a good one? There is no doubting KL Rahul’s talent and he has proved his chops in the middle-order for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. However, 50-over cricket can be different and if he fails at this slot, the knives will be out immediately and that can never be a good thing for a talented young player, steadily approaching his peak.

It won’t be just Rahul though. MS Dhoni has always been at the forefront of attention whenever he turns out in Indian colours but he will be under renewed attention. Not just because of Prasad’s recent comments but more so, because of that infamous 114-ball 54 against West Indies. The long and short of is that India’s middle-order mess continues to be a sticking point.

The bowling also has an experimental quality about it. There is no Mohammed Shami or Umesh Yadav which means Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah may have to share both the new ball and the old. There’s Shardul Thakur also in the mix along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. In the spin department, Ashwin and Jadeja’s exclusion gives Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal a three-way tussle to stake a claim for themselves. And considering India’s two best Test spinners haven’t been as effective in ODIs recently, that is further motivation for the latter trio.

Ultimately, despite the experimental nature of this India’s squad, the quality it contains should be enough to comfortably overwhelm Sri Lanka. The fun though will begin if Sri Lanka manage to pull off a shock in the first or second match. Then India’s best-laid experiments could start unravelling.

Squads:

• Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Malinda Pushpakumara, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Thisara Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando.   
• India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.   

Do you prefer your favourite sports stories delivered straight to your inbox every weekday? We have got you covered. Subscribe to The Field’s newsletter.